Fugitive sought in Griffith Park arrested in San Francisco

The L.A. Sheriff’s Department announced on Feb. 10, 2014, that 54-year-old Oscar Bridges, sought last week in the hills above the Greek Theater and Runyon Canyon Park, has been arrested in San Francisco.

Mounted Sheriff deputies help scour the area in and around Griffith Park on Feb. 4, 2014, during the search for murder suspect Oscar Bridges, 54. He was found Saturday, Feb. 8, in San Francisco (Photo by David Crane/Los Angeles Daily News)

A registered sex offender who allegedly stabbed to death a man in a South Los Angeles motel room was arrested in San Francisco and en route on Monday to the Southland to face justice.

Oscar Bridges, 54, was arrested about 12:45 p.m. Saturday, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies. Bridges will be booked at the sheriff’s station in Norwalk on suspicion of killing Robert Brewer, 21, of Texas, in a motel room in the 10400 block of South Vermont Avenue on Jan. 23.

On Tuesday, dozens of sheriff’s deputies -- some working with scent dogs and others on horseback -- searched Runyon Canyon Park and Griffith Park for Bridges, but they failed to find him.

A motive for the killing has not been disclosed. Brewer had rented the motel room for a week.

Detectives got a tip that Bridges fled to San Francisco, prompting them to notify San Francisco police and send them a flier, according to sheriff’s Lt. Holly Francisco. Officers on foot patrol in San Francisco spotted Bridges, who would not make eye contact with them, she said.

When officers tried to stop Bridges, he ran but was soon caught, she said.

In the days before his death, Brewer visited a friend in Oregon before arriving in Southern California, she said.

“How the suspect and victim came together, we’re still unsure of that,” Francisco said.

Bridges was known for befriending younger men, then robbing them, according to the sheriff’s department. His criminal history includes arrests for drug-related crimes, assault with a deadly weapon and robbery.